Skill Set Assessment, Skills Matching and Workforce Development

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I chair a community collaboration in Wayne County known as the Wayne County Common Good. It has been in existence since 1995. This is a collaboration of community agencies and government offices all of which share concerns about the employment of their customers/clients/patients. We have 14 members, which includes the Wayne Economic Development Council; and we are a member of the Wooster and Orrville Chambers of Commerce. These concerns range from underemployment, long term unemployment, at risk youth who need a vision regarding their futures, adults being able to construct a pathway from where they are at to a place where they can sustain themselves through employment; and seeing economic opportunities grow in the area.

As a group we feel strongly that we can play a role in what Advance N.E. Ohio is doing by doing our part to improve the workforce, thinking that many (not all) social problems diminish greatly when people have gainful employment or are on a path to it that they can trust. The Wayne County Common Good serves as the Advisory Board for the Employment and Training Connection (one stop service center for Ashland/Holmes and Wayne Counties. Lud Huck from Voices and Choices came and spoke with us at our March meeting.

An interest that has been raised repeatedly is that doing what we can to assure that as many people that come through the ETC's doors end up with meaniful skill set assessments. We have reviewed several and are very impressed with Work Keys. The beauty of this is that Work Keys produces information on Skill Sets that translates into the skill sets that employers are looking for; and show deficits where training would be helpful. Our thinking is to promote such assessments. Whether we like to focus on it or not, there are many individuals who reach adult hood without meaningful preparation in high school, perhaps without a degree; or they have a negative record of some sort hanging over them that dampens their chances in the employment market. With these barriers, they find themselves caught with seemingly little hope. So, the argument here is if we can succeed in making the market about skill sets, getting needed training that fills the holes, then these barriers are of little import. Don't worry, we are not blinded here about the importance of character and work ethic in all of this. This needs to be a part of the package as well. We believe these can be trained and inspired as well, when individuals can envision a pathway to a better place. Such pathways are the implicit part of hope.

There are several important aspects to this pursuit. Two of them are as follows:
1. Getting accurate information from current businesses or business considering moving to the area relative to Advance N.E. that clearly articulates the skill sets that are need by that company. Once these are known, plans can be made with individuals to obtain the type of training that would lead there. At least that is the goal.
2. Providingobtaining quality, age appropriate skill set assessments to those seeking employment. We realize that there is idealism involved with these words, but that is implied in Advance N.E., and we are not seeking this as an entitlement.

So, our interest is find ways to plug into Advance N.E; and Magnet in ways to further the pursuits of 1. & 2. above. We have some thoughts about the assessment and training, the motivation and support necessary for this, etc. and would love to be plugged into what is happening with Advance N.E. Ohio along these lines.

Please respond with suggestions as you would deem appropriate. Thanks

Robert Smedley, Chair- Common Good and Member representing the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Wayne/Holmes Counties.
330-264-2527

‹ Educational Partnership Ventures Family and Children Services ›

Comments

# Submitted by Nicole F. Hall (not verified) on Thu, 07/12/2007 - 05:09.

Mr. Smedley, Bravo for this insightful post and your initiative! One key element struck me when you wrote, "when individuals can envision a pathway to a better place." Motivation is inspired by hope. There must be an element of hope that a person's life/livelihood truly can improve. Without hope, what is there to strive for? In order to build hope, we must determine what the barriers are and provide a clear path of overcoming them.

From personal experience, I can tell you that the primary barrier I am facing is the lack of a degree (which I am currently pursuing, but it will most likely be another several years before I can secure a BA or BS because I work full-time and can only attend college part-time in the evenings or weekends). There is a lot of competition out there so the younger generation that had the opportunity to obtain their degree appears to be more preferable than years of experience, maturity and wisdom.

I would be interested in discussing your pursuit in greater detail and perhaps join your initiative. Thank you for posting your contact information. I will be calling you.







		

		

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			Submitted by Dave  (not verified) on Sat, 10/27/2007 - 10:28.		

		
I like the idea of Work Keys and have had some exposure to in my area of employment. I see two problems with it in my region (Lake County):


1) Lack of awareness and interest from an employer standpoint


2) The clients that are being asked to take Work Keys think it's a career assessment rather than a skills assessment


I have spoken to professionals in workforce development who have tried to give away "pilot" job profiling sessions for Work Keys implementation with little enthusiasm from local employers. My question is if training centers are going to give the same test to every job seeker any way, why bother to job profile to various industries?? ACT is looking to make a load of money off Work Keys...Especially at 60 bucks a pop!


I know something needs to be done, but Work Keys is not the only answer. Many dislocated and low wage adult workers walk into One Stop Centers looking for career direction. We show them a long list of WIA approved training providers and some labor market info and let them roll the dice. I personally believe some of these people would be relieved to enter into a more structured training program for high demand careers. Many of them do not want to choose from a large pool of careers and training programs. Many of them become overwhelmed with the decision. I like the idea of having some broad short-term programs that could lead to positions that offer a living wage. For instance, a hard skills track for entry-level manufacturing positions and a soft skills track for call center/customer service. This could lead to a collaboration with local employers looking for positions. There are too many training providers getting fat off WIA dollars and job seekers left without gainful employment. I think Work Keys can be a useful tool to assess the basic skills of job seekers, but also an opportunity to improve their skills rather than just a screen-out tool. 

		

	










		

		

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			Submitted by rnojonson on Wed, 10/31/2007 - 04:18.		

		
I also think skill sets should be examined and made known by businesses. Schools only have so much time and resources to produce the desired trained people. I myself think things have changed over the years. In the past businesses wanted people whom they could taylor to their needs, requiring only a general skill set. Now they want fully trained and experienced people for specific tasks. The job recruiters re-enforce this. They always ask if I have done this or that. It is rare to find a person especially one new to a field who has all of what businesses are asking for. This makes it very hard to get into some fields. This idea of "hitting the ground running" I have heard from many job recruiters and HR people in my own job search. It keeps guys like me out of the work force. I live in Lorain and do most of my job searching in the Cleveland area. It has been the same all over. Businesses do not want to have to train and groom an employee. In this time of changing the economic base in northeast Ohio, businesses should accomodate the retraining of the work force. This is not only for new folks entering the work force but also for guys like me who had to retrain. Recruiters should be more mindful of the potential of a person instead of being overly task oriented. This mind set in Ohio must change or more folks like myself will be forced to leave. Brain drain is not reserved for doctors, lawyers and engineers.